Kevin Mullins

Weekly Listening Choices

By now, most folks know that I am into Podcasts. I am constantly referencing news and events that I heard listing to my Podcasts. I picked up Computerworld and Network World this week and realized that they were at least a week or two behind in the news that they were covering.

Listening to Podcasts, helps me to stay current with all the Business and Technology news, and it outlines industry directions which help with vision and strategy.

Here is my list of Daily and Weekly Podcasts. On a weekly basis I probably listen to another 20 feeds that are not identified below, however the feeds below are the most notable. Here are My Podcasts ….

Daily Feeds:
• KenRadio World Tech Roundup - Ken Rutkowski
• CNET News.com daily tech news podcast - CNET News
• CIO Daily News Show- idg news service
• Wall Street Journal Tech News Briefing - podcast@wsj.com
• MSNBC Business News Headlines – MSNBC

Weekly Feeds:
• .NET Rocks! AAC – Carl Franklin
• Best Damn Tech Show, Period.
• In the Trenches - Kevin Devin and George Starcher
• Inside Silicon Valley: San Jose Mercury News
• InfoWorld Virtualization Report Podcast
• InfoWorld Emerging Enterprise Podcast
• IT Conversations part of the Conversations Network
• Manager Tools - Michael Auzenne and Mark Horstman
• Middle Management Lobotomy Podcast - Kevin Williams
• Mike Tech Show – Mike Smith

Building Influence

To be a successful manager of business or technical processes today, you need a lot of different skills. You need to understand the business needs and goals and understand your teams needs and goals. At times it appears that this is easier for the business folks as they are closer to the business needs and often see the technology as a tool to meet their needs, however technical groups need to pay attention to the business needs and plans because in most cases, the technical groups would not be in place without the business need.

There are many aspects involved in managing, however I want to focus on one key area today, Influence. In my mind, everyone is capable of Influence. I feel that I have influence over my direct staff, other staffs, my boss, his peers, my boss’s boss, and often, others in the organizations.

How did I gain this influence, was I given this influence when I became a Manager? I don’t think so. When rank becomes the primary means toward influence, then you have lost the battle to influence. At times, you need to be in business compliance and have to fall back on rack, however in my opinion there is a clear line between managing or directing thru rank and managing though influence.

You build influence by building and maintaining strong relationships, by communicating effectively and by being fair and consistent across all groups in the organization. This starts with your direct team. You need to lead by example by working hard and always communicate what you are doing. This can be hard at times. You often make choices for organizational benefit over personal preference that others many not fully understand, however as long as you are fair and consistent, others will respect your decisions even if they do not agree with them. As your team comes together and starts to beleive in you, other groups will also be influenced by this.

Working hard, communicating well, being fair and consistent are keys to Influence. In my opinion, being a manager is not a requirement. Everyone can be influencer.

If you are looking to move into the managerial ranks, then please consider the topics outlined above. For help with these and other Managerial Topics and Discussions, follow the links below for more information:

Manager Tools is a great reference for all managers: www.manager-tools.com

Scottberkin.com has a number of essays that are applicable to all, however there is a real technical influence in his writing which makes it appealing to technical folks: www.scottberkun.com

Technorati Tags: Management

Continuation of my Top 10 System and Network Administrator Tasks

Top 12 System and Network Administrator Tasks

Last week, on the In the Trenches podcast, Kevin and George reviewed of my list of System and Network Administrator Tasks. I really appreciated the review and all comments. George and Kevin spoke of a couple of Tasks or Requirements that could be added to the list and I have to agree with them. The two other items were ….

1) Know your users or your customers

2) Know your line of business.

I certainly agree with these and I am going to change my list to a Top 12 System and Network Administrator Tasks. Thanks for the input and thanks for the link.

Here is Kevin and George’s Link for In the Trenches:

http://www.kevindevin.com

Here is the link to their Podcast:

In the Trenches Podcast.mp3

Internet Explorer 7 Beta 3

I installed Internet Explorer 7 Beta 3 today. It would not install as an upgrade, instead it required that I uninstall Internet Explorer 7 Beta 2 and then do a full install of Internet Explorer 7 Beta 3.

All of my settings remained including my default search setting of Google, so I just uninstalled Beta 2 and reinstalled Beta 3.

Looks good, give it a try.

Technorati Tags: Microsoft